Don't Leave Me Alone
by torihi-pheonix
Summary: Akanti is a Water tribe healer with a dark past. She would rather die than resort to violence again. But when a boy named Jet comes along, urging her to step up and fight, will she be able to, or will she never move on? Jet X OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey there! This is my first Fan Fic, so please be nice! I tried to not make this boring for an opening chapter, but please tell me if I tried too hard. I'm also sorry is this is short. I promise I'll make it longer for the next one!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, Mike and Brian do. I just own the OC's**

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Akanti walked aimlessly around the main room, waiting for business. She always had business on the outside, but ever since she came to Ba Sing Se, the flow of customers and clients had come to a standstill. She figured that was a good thing, though. It would have been really worrisome if healers were in high demand behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. Still, she needed something to pass the time with.

Akanti was a 15-year old girl. She was obviously from the Water Tribes. You could tell from her long, thick, brown hair, dark olive skin, and big, blue eyes. She had a slender face and body, and her hair was in a tight bun with several strands with beads hanging in front of her ears. She was like any other typical Northern Water Tribe girl, look-wise but almost the exact opposite with her personality, except for her eyes. True, they were blue, but they were such a light blue they could have been called white. She was proud of her eyes, too. They were something that made her different. That and the fact that she was a waterbender.

Sure, female waterbenders were found in the North Pole, but every single one of them were healers. Just like every other girl, she would go to her healing lessons, listening to the lectures and participating in the practice. But at night, when nobody was around, she would sneak out and practice fighting, even though it was forbidden for females to do so. Something about taking action with her element made her feel alive. She wasn't alone, though. Every night her best friend, Notak would sneak out with her.

Notak was her childhood friend, and he was always there for her. When he found out that she had been sneaking out to fight, he decided to help her. He was a waterbender, too, and would teach her the things he learned during the day. He never told a soul, not even his parents. They both knew the consequences if they were both discovered.

Everything had been going well for almost a decade, and then Akanti decided to take her waterbending to the next level. She demanded Notak teach her moves that he knew she wasn't ready for, but she wanted to try anyway. One night she had tried to create an icicle cage around Notak, when things went horribly. One wrong wrist movement and the razor sharp icicles went out of control.

She was then discovered crying over the limp and bloody form that used to be her best friend. She was sentenced to death for it, but she had managed to escape and decided to take refuge in Ba Sing Se. She still had nightmares about, where she would awake screaming in the middle of the night after dreaming of holding her friend, his blood staining her hands.

For a while, on her travels towards Ba Sing Se, she had decided to never waterbend again. She soon discovered she couldn't do that when she could no longer resist the urge to heal injured people. She would heal people, but her waterbending would never be used for violence again. She would rather die than take another life.

"Somebody help!"

Akanti was taken out of her thoughts when a yell was heard outside. Suddenly three people came into the main room of her home. A tall, young, archer with a long and silent face, a scruffy-looking girl with face paint on, and a tan, shaggy-headed boy panting and doubled over in pain. The archer was holding him up. Akanti quickly ran over to the boy in pain.

"What's wrong?" She asked quickly, lying the boy down on a nearby bench in the room.

"Are you the healer?" the girl with the face paint asked.

"Yes, now what's wrong? How did this happen?"

"He was attacked."

"Judging form these wounds, it looks like an earthbender did it." Akanti reported, looking him over. He was badly hurt in the abdomen area and if he went much longer without treatment, he wouldn't make it. Realizing this, Akanti quickly bended some water from a nearby basin and covered her hand with the soothing element. She then placed her hands on his midsection as her water-coated hands started glowing a bright blue, almost matching her eyes.

After what seemed like hours, the boy's breathing steadied and his heart rate regulated. He was still nowhere completely healed, but he was no longer in danger of dying.

"Leave him here for a week of two so he can rest up." Akanti said as she stood up, wiping the dirt and dust off of her knees.

"Thank you so much," the scruffy girl said, on the brink of tears, "We can never thank you enough for saving him."

"No thanks necessary. I could never turn down a person in need. It was no trouble to help… um… I never got your names." Akanti realized.

"I'm Smellerbee. Over there is Longshot," she said, pointing to the archer, then directed her hand towards the boy. "And this is Jet."

Akanti looked down at the injured boy. Jet. Now she knew the name of the guy who she'd be spending her next week with.

"I'm Akanti. Don't worry about Jet. I'll have him fixed up and good as new in no time! Just come back in a week and he'll be all yours." She said, sounding as encouraging as she could.

"Thank you again!" Smellerbee said, as she and Longshot bowed to her and left.

Akanti looked down at Jet and smiled 'maybe this week won't be so bad after all.' She thought. She looked down at his now peaceful face, when realization suddenly dawned on her.

"Now I have to carry him up to his room all by myself!"

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**Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think of it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jet slowly opened his eyes as he groggily sat up. He tried he tried to look around his new surroundings to figure out where he was, but a sudden, stabbing pain in his side protested the movement and he lied back down.

"I guess that means I shouldn't do that for a while." He joked aloud, thinking it was to himself.

"No, you shouldn't." Another voice stated, as the owner of the voice entered the room with a tray of medicinal herbs, bandages, and a bowl of water.

Jet was surprised to hear and turned his head in the direction of the sound. His eyes widened when he saw a beautiful Water Tribe girl. At first he thought it was Katara, but then noticed that she and the girl standing in front of him looked almost nothing alike. Their only similarities were their skin and hair color.

"Where am I?" he asked, sitting up more slowly now.

"You're in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. I'm a healer. When you're friends brought you in here you were badly injured. You still are, in fact. Which is why you need to _rest_." She emphasized the last word while trying to force him to lie back down.

"What's your name?" Jet asked as he turned his head towards her.

"My name is Akanti. Akanti… of the Northern Water Tribe" she replied, visibly stiffening as she said the last part of her sentence.

"Well, Akanti, has anyone ever told you that that is a very pretty name. Its fitting for a very pretty girl" he smiled. If there was one thing Jet was, no matter how injured, it was a total and blatant flirt.

"Yes, actually. Quite a few people have said that to me. It never got them the reaction they were looking for. They never seemed to take a hint, though. No matter how many times I said no, they would keep trying. They finally got the hint when I punched one of them in the gut for not leaving me alone." She replied, smirking at the last part, but never taking her eyes from the herbs and medicine she was preparing.

"You aren't afraid to take action to get what you want. That's a very appealing feature in a woman." Jet said, changing tactics. If complimenting her appearance didn't work, then maybe something about her would.

"Gee. Thanks. Look. I know what you're getting at. I've seen it a million times. Saying I look nice didn't work, so you're trying to compliment my personality, making it seem like you know me. But you don't, so stop trying to look like you do. It will save you a lot of trouble." Akanti deadpanned.

When she had lived in the North Pole, before the incident, she was considered a good catch among the men. They would shamelessly flirt with her and try to get on her good side. She hated all of the sexist pigs who would. They only did it because of her looks. Not a single one knew who she really was; Notak was the only one who did. Not that it mattered anymore. With him gone she was alone in the world.

She looked down at Jet's surprised look and sighed. 'I don't think he deserved that much pent up rage.' She reasoned with herself.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just don't appreciate people making a move on me when they don't even know me."

"It's alright." Jet replied. "I've had people say worse things to me." 'a LOT worse.' He thought, frowning when he remembered when Katara told him exactly what he thought of her.

They sat together in silence as Akanti prepared the bandages. Then she moved her hands gently to Jet's stomach to remove his. She gingerly started to unwrap them like she had done before with a hundred other people, when two hands stopped her.

"I need to change your bandages. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm the one who put the bandages on in the first place." She sighed. Akanti resumed unraveling his bandages and inspected his abdomen. It was littered with bruises and scars. The bruises were from his recent scuffle that landed him in here, but the scars were much older. Some were also very major. They made her wonder just what Jet was doing before.

Akanti flicked her wrist and the water from the bowl seemed to jump at her command. It glided around her hands, forming gloves that wrapped around her palms and long fingers. She set her hands onto Jet's mid-section and the water started glowing a light blue. She felt his muscle tissue and bones slowly healing themselves. It would take a few more healing sessions, but she could tell there would be no permanent damage.

"So you're a waterbender." Jet inferred, breaking the eerie silence that hung over the room. He had only ever met one other waterbender in his life, and it was quite an experience. She was a beautiful and pure girl, and had almost instantly stolen his heart. But then she threw it back in his face, and it was a painful feeling. But he knew he deserved it. He almost killed innocent people.

"Yes, I am. How else do you think you were miraculously brought back from the brink of death?" she lightly questioned, pride subtle in her voice.

"I guess this means that I owe you my life." He joked, but completely thankful for her help.

"How did this happen?" Akanti suddenly asked. She realized that in all of the "excitement" of his first entrance and their first introductions, she never knew how he acquired the injuries. All she could guess was that it was an earthbender who hurt him.

"…I was mugged." Jet finally answered, turning towards the wall. He fully knew that if anybody found out about his illegal activities beneath Lake Laogai, they would either turn him in for lying about the Dai Lee, or send him to the crazy house for coming up with it.

Akanti raised an eyebrow at Jet, trying to figure out what really happened. She knew from the tone in his voice and the fact that he wouldn't look her in the eye meant he was lying.

"If you're going to lie to me, the least you could do is come up with something better. I highly doubt that a mugger nearly killed. You look strong enough to take down five. If it was something illegal, I won't tell the Dai Lee. Nobody's perfect and we've all committed crimes. Believe me, I know." She whispered the last part so Jet couldn't hear it.

Jet sighed and started telling her what happened. He didn't know why, but he trusted her when she said she wouldn't report him. He began where he thought he should, the beginning.

He began by retelling her about the night his parents died, the pain and horror of it. He kept going, talking about the following years, building up a small resistance to the fire nation. He then told her about the time he met the Avatar, and Katara.

He sped through that part, not wanting Akanti to judge him for a stupid mistake in his past. He only told her that the avatar and his two friends had to keep traveling for the North Pole.

He then said that his group disbanded after meeting the Avatar, wanting to make a bigger impact on the war. He said that he, Smellerbee, and Longshot stayed together and made their way to Ba Sing Se for a fresh knew start. He told her that when he got here, he got into a little trouble with the law and was taken away by the Dai Lee to their headquarters, beneath Lake Laogai. He described the brainwashing and how they controlled his mind.

'Wow, this is interesting,' Akanti thought 'not that meeting the Avatar isn't interesting, but brainwashing? And the fact that the law officials in Ba Sing Se were corrupt and controlling the people? I have a hard time believing that, but I don't think he's lying.'

Jet continued his story, "Then, one day, I found a poster with a picture of the Avatar's sky bison on it. It said he had gone missing. I heard these guys talking about a big furry animal, so I figured it was him. I tried to find someone from the Avatar's group; I wanted to help them. After an explanation of where I had been and what had happened, we went looking for Appa, the sky bison. We searched everywhere, but ultimately ended up under Lake Laogai.

"When we got to the room I thought they were keeping Appa, the Dai Lee ambushed us. Long Feng, their leader, tried to escape ahead of us, so me and Aang, the Avatar, we had him cornered, but the creep put me back under the hypnosis and made me attack Aang. I finally snapped out of it and tried to attack Long Feng, but he hit me in the stomach, hard. I was lying on the ground, trying to hold onto life, when all of the people who came with us gathered around me. I told them that this was their only chance, and they should go after Long Feng. Smellerbee and Longshot stayed with me. I blacked out after that. The next thing I remember is waking up here." Jet finished, slightly winded from his long story.

"Wow. I had no idea. That's incredible, but I won't tell a soul. It would get you arrested, and we can't have that, now can we?" Akanti asked, a hint of levity in her voice. She went back to business, though when she noticed Jet looking very tired. "You should rest," she said, standing up from her place on the chair. She started picking up her medical supplies and headed towards the door. "I'll be back later to check on you." She stopped at the door to look at Jet one last time, then walked out of the room, blowing out the lamp by the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I know it's been awhile since I've updated, and I thank you for your patience! I promise that this chapter will have more romance.**

_Italics are flashbacks_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or its characters. I do, however, own Akanti and Notak.**

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Akanti went down to her kitchen to make some herbal tea. She was so lucky that she had a two level apartment. Most of the other people around where she lived where lucky to get a one room apartment. She was granted hers by the king because of her abilities.

She reached up to a cupboard to pull out the ingredients to make the tea, as well as the tea pot. She set the herbs aside and put the water into the kettle. Grabbing the spark rocks, she left the water to boil. She looked around for her cups, and remembered that they were on the highest shelf of her cupboard. She sighed as she grabbed a nearby chair and brought it towards the counter. She got on top of the chair, but it still wasn't tall enough to reach. She balanced one of her feet on the top of it so she could reach, when she saw Jet enter the kitchen.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, infuriated that he disobeyed her, but still focusing on balancing on the chair.

"I couldn't sleep. That and I heard you rattling around down here, so I wondered what you were doing. I see now that you're making tea. You might want to be careful, though. You could fall."

Akanti rolled her eyes and tried to stretch a little farther to reach the cup in the back when she lost her footing. She yelped as she started falling towards her floor. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact that she was sure was eminent. She was more than surprised when she instead felt two warm, muscular arms catch her. She looked up and saw two, grey smirking eyes looking down at her.

"I told you that you should be careful." He said, never letting up his smirk. He might have been smirking on the outside, but he felt like he was dying on the inside. The fact that he was kneeling and bending his badly bruised abdomen made his insides feel like they were on fire. He also highly doubted that he could get up without help. But he wouldn't let them. That would hurt his pride too much.

Akanti just looked up into his grey eyes and forgot that she was supposed to say something back. She felt oddly warm in his arms and felt her face heat up at the close proximity between Jet's face and hers. Her heart steadily started speeding up as a slight blush creeped onto her face. She would have probably stayed like that for a few more hours, but was startled when she heard the water boiling.

She shimmied out of Jet's immovable grasp and ran to the kettle. She grabbed the handle and set it on the counter to cool a little. She turned back around to pick up the tea cup shards when she saw Jet still kneeling on the ground. She connected the dots in her head and realized that he couldn't get up.

"Maybe you should be more careful, too." She replied, feeling smug at the fact that Jet's showing off got him hurt. She also felt bad for him, but she wouldn't let him know that. That would just show weakness to him, and she never showed weakness to anybody, not anymore. "Come on, let me help you up." She offered, moving towards him, knowing that even if he was a chauvinistic jerk, he was still a patient.

Jet simply looked up at her, narrowing his eyes at the mention of help. "I can do it myself." He said, refusing to seem needy and helpless. He strained his muscles with all of his might, but still couldn't get even an inch off of the ground.

Akanti rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since Jet showed up, and slung his arm over her shoulders. She slowly lifted him from the ground, grunting at the unexpected weight that came along with supporting Jet. "You're heavier than you look. I suppose it has to do with the fact that you have so much muscle."

"I think you just complimented me." Jet smirked when he saw Akanti blush at his inference. "You should watch what you say or I might actually think that you're attracted to me."

Akanti ignored him as she brought him to his bed. She gently laid him down and sat down in a nearby chair. Jet looked at her, shifting a little from feeling uncomfortable. "Why are you still here?" he finally asked.

"I'm here to make sure you actually get some rest. I know you probably don't believe me, but it's really important that you do."

"It's going to be a little hard to get comfortable enough to sleep when you keep staring at me like that."

"Try harder."

"What are you doing in Ba Sing Se. I mean, why are you so far from the Northern Water Tribe?" Jet asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He wouldn't be able to sleep with her there, and she would be there until he fell asleep, so he might as well learn about her.

"Why do you care?" She snapped. She still felt a tear at her heart whenever she even thought about her past.

"A conversation might make me sleepier." Jet lied, but knew that it would convince her.

"…I was exiled." Akanti finally replied after a few minutes of silence, refusing to look Jet in the eyes.

"Why were you exiled?"

"My reasons for being exiled are just that. My reasons!" Akanti fumed.

Jet was shocked at first at her outburst. That shock quickly turned to anger, though. "So I tell you my whole life story, but you won't tell me one little thing?" Jet yelled back.

Akanti stood up and stormed out of the room, but stopped for a second when she reached the door. "It's because if I told you, you would never trust me." She said, before leaving the room.

By the time she reached her room, tear were freely falling down her face. She opened a chest that had her belongings from her past in it. She pulled out a necklace with a carved stone on it, and choked back a sob just from looking at it.

"_Hey Akanti!" Notak cried cheerfully at seeing his long time best friend. He ran up to her and gave her a wide smile._

"_Hi Notak. Why did you want to see me after my healing class let out? Don't you have waterbending class?" Akanti asked, still glad to see her friend._

"_Yeah, but I skipped. I actually called here to give you something." He said, a blush spreading on his face._

"_Really? What is it? It must have been important if you risked getting scolded by Master Pakku to give it to me."_

"_Believe me, it is." He mumbled, slipping his hands into his pockets. He finally fished out what he had been looking for and held it out to Akanti for her to see what it was._

_Akanti carefully picked up the object and realized it was a necklace. She scrutinized and gasped when she finally realized what it was. It was a beautiful light blue stone with a carving of a crescent moon with a wave gently wrapping around it. She looked up at Notak who was smiling and blushing._

"_I know you're not of marrying age, yet." He started out. "But I wanted to ask you before some other guy came and took you. I know it's unorthodox, but nothing in the world would make me happier."_

_Akanti simply smiled back at Notak. "Nothing would make me happier. Besides, I wouldn't accept it from anybody but you." She quickly wrapped arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. It was the happiest moments of both their lives_

Akanti was lying in bed, clutching the necklace to her chest as she thought about that day. It was the night after that happened that she ended his life. He was her future, they were supposed to be together, but the Spirits seemed to think it was fun to torture her. She fell asleep with tears still falling down her cheeks and Notak's necklace grasped tightly in her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Jet woke up to harsh rays of light pouring through the windows in his room and the clattering of a tray onto the table across his room. He slowly opened his eyes, but winced and squeezed them shut at the light. He tried again, and was more successful this time. He was greeted with the sight of Akanti mixing various herbs.

"I didn't expect you to be here, especially this early. I thought you hated me, or has my charm and handsome face finally gotten to you?" he smirked.

Akanti rolled her eyes at the last comment, but didn't deny it. "I never said I didn't hate you. The only reason I'm here is because you're a patient, and I'm not one to give up on someone in need, even if they're working my last nerve. Besides, who said it was early? It's almost sunset." She brought the bowl that she was previously mixing and put it in front of Jet's face. The concoction had so many unidentifiable things in it that Jet didn't think he wanted to know about. The smell of it alone was probably enough to gag him. "Drink this." Akanti demanded.

"You're kidding right?" Jet scanned her face for the tiniest sliver of something. Anything to get him not to drink this, but no such luck. He glared at her as he took the bowl from her hands. He grimaced down at the bowl before tentatively bringing it to his lips.

He gagged a little as the first drop hit his tongue, but refused to spit it up, otherwise Akanti would nag to him about it for the rest of the week. He kept repeating to himself that he would live as each sip slid into his stomach. He resisted the urge to jump up and dance that he fished it, if only because it would cause him too much pain.

"Good boy." Akanti sarcastically praised. "Now, sit up so I can change your bandages."

Jet slowly maneuvered into a sitting position. He sat still as Akanti unhooked the end of his bandage and started unwrapping. Her soft, nimble hands would often touch Jet's chest as they worked. It was an innocent gesture, but didn't feel like it, at least, not to Jet.

He couldn't explain why, but he could feel the hair on his neck prickling as he occasionally glanced down at her. She, however, didn't notice, as she was too engrossed in her work. As her hands worked lower down his abdomen, he shivered slightly as her hands scraped slightly over his navel. She completely finished unwrapping the bandages, and gave his stomach an odd look. She shook her head slightly, then grabbed more bandages from beside her. She wrapped them around his body, and as she worked her way up, Jet could feel a blush spreading over his cheeks. She tucked the bandage in and sat up to survey her work.

"You heal really fast." She finally stated.

"What?" He questioned, caught off guard by the comment.

"I said you heal really fast. Your bruises are already half the size that they were when you arrived two days ago."

"Wait! _Two_ days? I thought I got here yesterday!" Jet interjected. He had lost an entire day, something he would never get back, and it was because he was _sleeping_?

"Nope, two days. You were unconscious all of yesterday. It was actually pretty nice. But, anyway, these wounds are astounding! How do you heal so fast, because it can't just be me. I mean, I know I'm good, but I can't be that good."

"I guess when being bed-ridden isn't really an option, your body learns to either heal quickly, or not at all." Jet explained; a certain sadness in his eyes.

Akanti caught the look, but she didn't press for answers. It wasn't like she had any right to. "Well, you should be healthy enough to go outside for a walk today. Fresh air and exercise is always good for the body, as long as you don't overdo it." She finished, giving Jet a pointed look. She stood up and headed towards the wardrobe.

She opened it and pulled out a pale brown tunic and tan pants. They were loose, so they wouldn't give Jet too much discomfort when he walked around. She threw them next to him on the bed.

"Get dressed. We're going to the market today."

Jet slowly complied and hooked his thumbs in his pants before he realized that Akanti was still in the room. He blushed and coughed to indicate to Akanti that she should leave the room. She rolled her eyes at his immaturity, but left anyway. He pulled on the pants and shirt slowly so he would strain his bruises. As he finished, he staggered out of the room and found Akanti waiting for him at the front door. She rolled his eyes at his gait.

"Stop being so over dramatic. You can walk normally, just don't run or anything." With that, she walked out of the door, motioning for Jet to follow.

Akanti and Jet walked in silence even the whole trip to the marketplace, which was only a few blocks from her house. She was really grateful for the close proximity because if she was missing an ingredient for dinner or needed something replaced, she could just go out and but it. Also, since it was so close to her house, Jet wouldn't exert as much energy walking there and back. Even if his injures were healing at an exponential rate, he still shouldn't push it.

Akanti was walking as she noticed that Jet kept glancing down at her when he thought she didn't notice. She tried to ignore it, but couldn't fight the urge to find out why he was staring at her.

Jet kept looking down at Akanti , who was 4 inches shorter than him. He had never seen her in anything but indoor light, and he hated to admit it, but she was actually much prettier than originally anticipated. The way her light blue eyes glistened against the setting sun, they seemed to sparkle. Her hair that wasn't constricted to a bun would sway slightly in the summer breeze. She was a really good-looking waterbender.

"Why are you staring at me?" Akanti asked, tearing him from his musings.

Jet pondered this for a second. Why was he staring at her? Sure, she looked beautiful right now, but she had also been extremely harsh towards him. Ever since he met her, she had only sent him death glares and shot down his attempts to befriend her. She had never tried to be nice to him, merely judged him before she knew him.

'Wait,' Jet thought, 'doesn't she hate it when people do that to her? What a hypocrite!'

"Hello? Is anybody in there?" Akanti asked, waving a hand in front of Jet's face, trying to get his attention.

"Huh? W-what?" jet stuttered as he was yanked out of his reverie.

"I was trying to get your attention. I asked you why you were staring at me, then you blanked out for like, five minutes! I was starting to wonder if you had passed out on me or something. Don't scare me like that." She scolded.

Jet smirked at the last sentence, despite the fact it was reprimanding him. "Awww, how sweet. You care about me so much that you worry if I space out a little? I'm touched." Jet teased, a mischievous glint ever-present in his storm grey eyes.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Akanti gushed, looking away and blushing heavily. 'Why am I blushing' She thought, still trying to hide her face. 'He's been a jerk to me since he got here! Always coming on to me! Who does he think he is? He has no right. He should know better.' She kept coming up with Jet's flaws, almost trying to reassure herself that he didn't deserve to be treated like she was treating him. She replayed their previous encounters throughout the week in her mind. Yeah, he flirted, but for a guy with his personality, that was probably normal. Also, he was Earth Kingdom, not Water Tribe, so when he flirted, it was harmless, not meant to be taken seriously.

Akanti wanted to hit herself for being such a jerk to Jet. She had been a complete hypocrite in judging him. She internally scolded herself until she noticed her favorite food stand a few yards ahead.

"We're here." was all she said to Jet before walking off to talk to the stand owner.

Jet stopped and stood in front of the modest shop. There wasn't anything really notable about it. It had all the commodities you could get at any other stand, and he was sure you could find lower prices if you took the time to search.

"This stand is my favorite. The old man who works here is one of the nicest people I've ever met." Akanti said out loud, as if she read Jet's mind, or at least his face, which was riddled with confusion.

Then, almost as if on cue, a tall, lanky old man came out from the back of the shop. He had pale skin with liver spots strewn about and grey tufts of hairs that were above his ears. He looked down at Akanti and a warm smile spread across his face, stretching his wrinkles out.

"Well, well. If it isn't Akanti! And who is this strapping young lad behind you? A suitor, perhaps?" The old man asked, giving Jet a playful and obvious once-over.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Chen. You know very well that he isn't. Do you have to ask that every time you see me with a patient?" Akanti asked, dramatically huffing and rolling her eyes.

Chen grasped at his heart and started to fake cry, "Oh, Akanti! You break my heart with your biting words. You know that this old fool is just trying to look out for you. You can't be alone forever."

"And who said I was alone? I always have you right around the corner, Chen."

"True, but I'm getting old, and I won't always be here. I just want someone to make sure you're safe and cared for when I'm dead and in the Spirit World." He said a worried look in his eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Chen. I'll be fine; I can take care of myself. Anyways, back to business. Fill it up with the usual." Akanti smiled, handing him her basket. Chen quickly filled the basket while maintaining a casual conversation with Akanti as Jet stood to the side.

Jet was lost after being a witness to their interaction. It changed from histrionic to serious to casual almost simultaneously. He was so busy trying to piece together what just happened that he didn't notice that Akanti had already pated and was walking back to the house.

"Come on, slowpoke!" She yelled playfully back at Jet. She was feeling in a tremendously good mood after visiting with Chen. She beamed brightly as she waited for Jet to respond. 'He sure is spacey.'

Jet looked up to Akanti and his breath hitched. Sure, she was pretty before, but that was nothing compared to this! Her face looked a hundred times better when she smiled. Her eyes lit up, and coupled with the glow of the twilight air, they seemed to glow. He didn't know why, but just looking at her made his chest overflow with warmth. At her call, his feet automatically started moving towards her.

He finally caught up with her and she tilted her head up to grin at him. It wasn't a toothy grin, it was more like they had just shared a private joke, and Jet loved that grin. She turned and started back. They walked together for a few minutes in a more comfortable silence than when they had arrived.

As they reached her house, Akanti slipped off her shoes before heading into the kitchen. "Do whatever for a few minutes while I make dinner. We're having komodo-chicken tonight." She called from the kitchen.

Jet complied and just milled about the room, looking at random stuff before just sitting down on a nearby chair and just waiting.

"Dinner is ready!"

**I know, I know. It has been forever since I last updated, but I have an excuse. If anybody else has seen the Last Airbender Movie, they would understand. That movie was so bad that I had to go on A:TLA detox for awhile before I could sit down and type this out. I have made a full recovery, and have come out with a deep vendetta against M. Knight, but other than that, I'm good. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and Reviews are always appreciated.**


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